Researchers claim to have come one step closer to the “fountain of youth”

A group of researchers has made some groundbreaking progress towards making what they describe as the “fountain of youth”. The research has to do with a compound known as nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) which plays a crucial role in maintaining proper functioning for the entire body.

NAD+ could rock the industry

Anti-aging products are highly popular all over the world. The numbers speak for themselves as it’s a billion dollar industry. Although there are many products, natural methods or even foods that you can eat to stay ‘younger’, there hasn’t been any concrete way to maintain youth.

It’s totally random when you look at it. Some people even in their sixties look and move younger than those actually younger than them. The market is there, it all comes down to whether it’s possible or not. According to the co-director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging at Harvard Medical School, David Sinclair:

“NAD+ is the closest we’ve gotten to a fountain of youth,”“It’s one of the most important molecules for life to exist, and without it, you’re dead in 30 seconds.”

NAD+ and the research

NAD+ is not only important for regulating the overall health of your body, but it is also critical for cellular aging. It is found in all living cells, so why does the aging process occur then? The reason is that over time, the levels of NAD+ start to decrease.

The research is significant because they’re found a way to increase levels of NAD+ in mice. The effect that has had on the mice has been astounding. The subjects were looking and acting younger, and they lived longer than expected. What Sinclair and his colleagues did in the study was mix a compound into the water that was given to the mice. The compound in question is known to raise NAD+ levels in the body, so it provided them an easy way to test their hypothesis out.

The results

As expected, the compound was able to do what it was supposed to. There were significant changes in NAD+ levels in the subjects after only a few hours. After a week, the condition of the older mice had improved so much that it was hard to tell them apart from the regular mice. The results were truly mindblowing because at one point it became hard to distinguish between a 2-year old mouse and a 4-month mouse.

Since the inner body system of mice resembles the one present in humans, scientists are now trying to replicate the results of the previous study on humans. A randomized trial found that people who took supplements supporting NAD+ saw a significant rise in NAD+ levels over a two month period.

The possibilities are endless

Researchers themselves are using it. Sinclair takes the NAD+ supplement daily. According to him, he feels a lot younger and energetic. Sinclair claims that he doesn’t experience hangovers or jet lag anymore and that he feels much sharper as if he was young again. Moreover, he claims that his father’s 78 years old and taking NAD+ has enabled him to go on six-day hikes again.

NAD+ is a crucial compound present in our bodies and researchers are finding ways to put it to good use. There are other supplements out there as well that claim to boost NAD+ levels but they lack the testing that researchers such as Sinclair have done. Just having a supplement that works or claims to do something is not worth it unless there’s concrete research behind it.

In Sinclair’s case, there is strong evidence to back up his claims about the benefits of NAD+. Moreover, the research may also provide a bit of insight as to how much supplementation should one go for to ensure healthy levels because, in the end, an excess of everything is bad. Therefore, it’s intriguing to see where this all leads. Perhaps an “anti-aging” pill is on the horizon.

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Parker holds a masters in computer science, but her love for movies and everything that goes into making them forced her to divert her strength to entertainment world. She has been interviewed a number of celebrities in her previous jobs.